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2016 Kentucky Speedway, Quaker State 400

The last restrictor plate race before the start of the Chase is in the books and Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag for the third time this season to tie him with Kyle Busch for the series lead in wins. The first half of the race was run pretty clean and then the fireworks came out during the last half with more than half of the field sustaining some type of damage, much of it terminal, in a series of wrecks that is all too common in this type of race.

QUAKER STATE 400

This week the series heads to Kentucky Speedway for the sixth time in the Sprint Cup Series. This is another of the one-and-a-half-mile tri-oval speedways on the circuit and has just been recently repaved and slightly reconfigured. They also used a process to ‘season’ the track to roughen it up a little bit so it won’t be so slick. Supposedly the process makes the surface seem like it is five years old. We will see how the ‘seasoning’ and new configuration play out for the drivers this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle won the inaugural race here back in 2011. He also won this race last season, has finished in the top 5 in four of his five starts, and has led more laps here than any other driver. After a stretch where they weren’t even finishing races due to accidents or mechanical failures, this team put a great run together last weekend, finishing second at Daytona. They want to get another win before the Chase starts to break their tie with Brad for the series lead.

Brad Keselowski: Brad also has won two races at this track in the Sprint Cup Series and three races in the Xfinity Series. He has four top ten finishes in his five races and is right behind Kyle in laps led. With all of the success he has had here in both series, I look for Brad to have another strong showing and give Kyle a run for his money as he looks for his fourth win of the season and second in a row.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is looking for his first win at this track and has finished in the top ten in every race he has run here. After getting caught up in the first wreck at Daytona last week this team will be looking to rebound and pick up their third win of the season. This is the type of track this team has made hay on during their championship seasons and these are the tracks you need to do that on to win those championships.

Joey Logano: Joey is also looking for his first win here in the Sprint Cup Series. He does have three wins in the Xfinity Series at this track which tells me the Penske drivers really have a handle on this track. Both of the teams have been fast all season and both are already qualified for the Chase. All other wins are just icing on the cake with a few bonus points thrown in once the Chase starts.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won the 2013 race here and has finished in the top five in his last three starts. His lowest finishing position is seventh in his five races run here which is very impressive. All of the Joe Gibbs cars have been good this season with each of these drivers already having won at least one race. I think Matt will have another top ten run this week and could very well have a shot at winning another race here.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is looking for his first win here also. In fact, he is looking to lead his very first lap at this track which is very surprising the way he has run the past few years. However, he has finished in the top ten in his last three starts here and his lowest finish is seventeenth in the five races he has run. I look for this team to get back on track and lead some laps in this race and maybe contend for the win.

Denny Hamlin: Denny is good at this track unless he gets caught up in an accident. He has finished third two times here and has also crashed out of two races in his five starts here. Looks like it is feast or famine for this team at this track so far in his career. Denny could be a sleeper but, I think there are probably better drivers to choose from this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has been stellar every time he goes to a track of this type this season. He has two top ten finishes here and I think he will come away with another great finish this weekend. This team really seems to have the mile-and-a-half tracks down to a science and they dominated the race at Charlotte a little over a month ago. Look for them to compete for another win at Kentucky this weekend.

Carl Edwards: This team seems to be off a little on the handling of their cars since winning a couple of races earlier this season. It seems they are good early in races and then they aren’t making the right adjustments through the race as the track changes. This is going to be another Saturday night race where they start while the sun is up and then finish under the lights so, to track will change considerable during the race and they will have to make those correct adjustments if they want to win their third race of the season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale hasn’t had the type of season he was hoping for to this point. Right now he is sitting alright to make the Chase on points but, I’m sure this team would like to start running consistently better and pick up at least one win before the start of the Chase. If we get a couple more first time winners on the season and Dale has some more bad luck on the track he might find himself in a real battle to make the Chase when the series goes to Richmond for the final race before the Chase.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kyle Busch
  • Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Kasey Kahne
  • Ryan Newman
  • Carl Edwards

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Chase Elliott
  • Ryan Blaney

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Brad Keselowski
  3. Martin Truex Jr.
  4. Joey Logano
  5. Kevin Harvick

Dark Horse: Kasey Kahne

Stay Away From: Jamie McMurray

Big 18: Kyle Busch

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